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The NCAA Tournament began in 1939.  When it first began, the NCAA took a back seat to the more prestigious, and East Coast based National Invitation Tournament.

The NCAA Tournament wasn’t televised until 1962.  Only a condensed version of the championship game was aired on ABC’s Wide World of Sports.  This was after the semifinals were edited out.

The tournament began to gain steam when John Wooden and UCLA rose to prominence.  This led to NBC televising parts of the tournament beginning in 1969.  In 1971, the Final Four was played at the Houston Astrodome.  This was the first time it was in a domed stadium.

The 1979 game between Magic Johnson and Michigan State and Larry Bird and Indiana State put college basketball and the Final Four on the map as one of the biggest sporting events in the United States.  It remains the highest rated college basketball game ever.  

Three years later, the Final Four returned to a dome.  Michael Jordan announced himself to the basketball world by hitting the game-winning shot for North Carolina at the Superdome in New Orleans.  This was also the first tournament telecast by CBS.

The NCAA signed a $10.8 billion deal in April with CBS and TBS to broadcast its games through 2024.